


Presents and Pranks

by Just_amberr



Series: Tom learns How to Relationship [5]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Crack, Asexual Tom Riddle, Family Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Crack, M/M, Pranks and Practical Jokes, Snakes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-04
Updated: 2021-03-04
Packaged: 2021-03-17 03:28:14
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29835324
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Just_amberr/pseuds/Just_amberr
Summary: In which Tom Riddle meets the Weasley family for dinner.
Relationships: Harry Potter/Tom Riddle
Series: Tom learns How to Relationship [5]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2185662
Comments: 8
Kudos: 118





	Presents and Pranks

“Now, boys,” Molly Weasley said sternly, pointing her wooden spoon at Fred and George. “There will be no pranking when Tom and Harry get here! Ron says Tom’s nervous enough as it is.”

“Mother!” Fred yelled in mock offense. “Why would you think so little of us?”

“My thoughts exactly, Fred.” George nodded. “We’re grown up adults now, mum.”

“You both own a joke-shop.” Mrs. Weasley dead-panned. “Your whole career revolves around pranking.”

“Exactly,” George said, smirking. “We’re simply exhausted, really. Just a nice quiet family supper for us.”

“What is it you’re cooking anyway, mum?” Fred asked curiously looking over her shoulder. “Whatever it is, I don’t reckon it’s supposed to boil so angrily.”

Mrs. Weasley shrieked, shooing them out while she attempted to save the supper she’d forgotten to stir. 

“Speaking of Tom,” Fred whispered conspiratorially to George. “Have you remembered everything?”

“Yes,” George smiled evilly. “This evening is going to be brilliant.”

“Harry,” Tom said slowly, trying to stay calm. “Are you one hundred percent sure it wouldn’t be better if I wore a suit to meet the Weasleys?”

“Yes!” Harry yelled exasperatedly. “Tom, they will laugh at you if you go in there looking like a proper prince. Do you want to be laughed at?”

“No.” Tom muttered petulantly. “Do you really think I look like a prince?”

Harry narrowed his eyes, but nodded. He got up off of Tom’s bed and picked out some casual clothes from the dresser, hurling them unceremoniously at Tom. 

“Wear those and you’ll fit right in, I promise.” He said grumpily, returning to his comfy spot. 

“Thank you,” Tom started changing. “You know, I just want to make a good first impression. I’m not very good with...well, families.”

Harry couldn’t help but soften as he looked into Tom’s anxious face. 

“Hey,” He said gently, getting back up and touching Tom’s face. “They are going to love you, Tom.”

Tom nodded, though he still looked a little unsure. Harry hugged him for good measure before sitting back down.

“It’ll be great, okay?” Harry smiled reassuringly. 

“Did you warn him about Fred and George?” Ron muttered as they drove up to the Weasley’s house. 

Hermione and Tom were sitting in the backseat of Ron’s car, chatting about politics like they usually did. Harry had chosen the passenger seat, and smirked at Ron’s question.

“Tom was raised in an orphanage, Ron.” He retorted. “He can handle the chaos twins.”

Ron did not look convinced, but dropped the subject as they pulled into the drive.

The Weasley family lived out in the country, which was a good thing as their house was, well, different. Instead of gutting the place or renovating it to flow with its other parts, the Weasleys had built a hodge-podge house with various sizes and shapes in the property. It was overwhelming at first, all the colors and quirks, but after a few minutes looking at it the place made sense in a way. 

Mr. Weasley was outside waiting for them, having been tinkering in his garage. Though he worked for the government by day, he liked to invent knick knacks as a hobby. As a result, his garage was littered with various broken items and gadgets that he would swear to find a purpose for eventually. 

“Hullo!” He called, wiping his hands off on his pants before shaking Tom’s hand. “It’s good to finally meet you, Tom!”

“It’s nice to meet you too, sir.” Tom said politely.

Mr. Weasley laughed. “No need for the ‘sir’, Tom! Call me Arthur - everyone does.”

He ushered them all into the house, chattering happily. Tom gazed around curiously, though he was still on his best behavior. Whatever Harry had told him, Tom knew how quickly people could dislike someone like him. And he really wanted the Weasleys to like him. 

“Hello,” Percy said in a self-important way. He had just gotten a promotion at his job, so he was feeling a little more arrogant than usual. “It’s a pleasure meeting you.”

He shook Tom’s hand firmly, his formality actually setting Tom at ease. 

“You were just promoted, weren’t you?” Tom asked politely. “I recognize you from my partnerships with your boss.”

Percy practically beamed, nodded vigorously. “Yes, it was quite a surprise, if I’m honest. Mr. Crouch is a truly excellent boss…”

And he carried on talking business with Tom, who sat patiently and listened to him. This had been the one Weasley Tom was sure he could make a good impression on, so he intended on milking it as long as possible. Maybe Harry would just forget to introduce him to everyone else?

“Nice try.” Harry whispered in amusement, before he turned to Percy. “I’m going to introduce Tom to the others, Percy. I’m sure you’ll get to talk more at supper.”

Percy nodded, still looking quite pleased. “I’ve got a report to finish anyway.”

Tom smiled sheepishly at Harry, but didn’t have time to say anything as Fred and George practically tackled him. 

“Hullo!” Fred yelled, grinning widely at Tom. “Welcome to the family, Tom!”

“Forgive our enthusiasm,” George said brightly. “We just can never have too many brothers, can we, Harry?”

Harry shook his head in exasperation. “I said gently, guys!”

“It’s alright, Harry.” A rather flustered and disheveled Tom said from in between the twin sandwich they’d created. “It’s nice to meet you both.”

“Honestly,” Ginny huffed, coming down the stairs with her girlfriend, Luna. “You two never change, do you?”

“I like them.” Luna said, smiling at them both. 

“And we like you, lovely Luna!” George sing-songed. “Come judge Tom with us!”

Luna came out from behind Ginny and stared up at Tom for a few seconds, leaving Tom very disconcerted. 

Finally, she nodded and broke eye contact. “I like him.”

“Well,” Ginny nodded, coming over and saving Tom from her brothers. “That’s good enough for me - name’s Ginny, Tom.”

They shook hands, and then Ginny turned to Harry. 

“Mum’s in the kitchen, waiting for you both.” 

Harry nodded, coming over and smoothing out Tom’s shirt for him. “Come on, Tom.”

Tom held onto Harry’s hand, nerves racing through him until Harry squeezed it three times. Tom nodded, smiling slightly as they entered the kitchen. Molly had her back turned from them, fussing over several pots with food simmering inside. The countertop in between them and her was cluttered with vegetables and a large loaf of bread she’d sliced up. Looking around, her kitchen was cluttered in general, homey in a way that couldn’t be fabricated. 

“Mum,” Harry greeted Mrs. Weasley, pulling Tom along with him. “I brought Tom, just like you asked.”

Mrs. Weasley turned around, smiling at them both warmly. 

“Harry,” She said fondly, hugging him and then looking up at Tom. “So you’re the man Harry’s been so taken with, eh?”

She hugged Tom, who held her back hesitantly. “It’s nice to meet you, Mrs. Weasley.”

“Molly is fine,” She said, patting Tom on the arm. “Or mum - I’ll answer to both.”

“Molly,” Tom acknowledged. “Thank you for inviting me to dinner. It all smells really good.”

“High praise coming from you, I hear.” Molly beamed, turning back to her pots. “Ron’s not stopped talking about that roast you made for him and Hermione the other day.”

Tom smiled, relaxing as he talked about food with Mrs. Weasley. Harry and Tom took a seat at the kitchen table, after Mrs. Weasley shooed them away from helping her cook. Harry was very pleased, watching Tom interact with the woman who had helped put him back together after his parents died. 

“That should do it.” Mrs. Weasley said in a satisfied tone. “Harry, would you bring everyone in here, please?”

“Alright.” Harry walked out of the kitchen, momentarily leaving Tom and Mrs. Weasley alone.

“Are you sure you don’t want help?” Tom asked again as Mrs. Weasley brought the food over. 

Mrs. Weasley waved him off. “You’ve already helped, Tom. I’ve been trying to get Harry over to dinner for months now.”

She smiled kindly at Tom. “He was really broken up about that other bloke he was dating, though to be honest I never liked the sound of him.”

“You never met him?” Tom asked, trying to ignore the bitter feeling he got whenever he remembered Harry had dated people before him.

“Oh no, dear,” Mrs. Weasley laughed. “You’re the first man he’s ever brought home.”

Tom tried not to preen, but if Mrs. Weasley’s smirk was anything to go by, he wasn’t very successful.

“To tell you the truth, Tom,” Mrs. Weasley said, sitting down at the table next to him. “I think Harry was more upset with the idea of what happened. His parents were high school sweethearts, same with me and Arthur.”

She sighed. “I told him that was rare, that real love comes in all shapes and sizes, but I think he was worried we’d be disappointed that his first relationship didn’t have a fairytale ending.”

“Were you?” Tom asked, immediately feeling self-conscious for asking. “Disappointed, I mean?”

Mrs. Weasley thought for a moment, then shook her head slightly. 

“It was disappointing to hear my Harry had gotten hurt, of course,” She said softly, but then she patted Tom on the hand. “But it led him to you, Tom.”

She laughed, smiling proudly. “I’ve never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you!”

Tom looked at her, feeling warm under her motherly presence. It was strange to him, but not in a way that made him uncomfortable. If anything, he felt too comfortable. He never wanted to leave. She was giving him a gift, much like Hermione had before. These insights to Harry, this obvious acceptance of Tom into their worlds...they were more precious than anything Tom could ever give back. 

“Thank you, Molly.” He said quietly. 

He couldn’t say any more, but judging by the expression on Mrs. Weasley’s face, she understood exactly what he meant. 

“We’re here!” Fred and George yelled in sync, crashing the emotional atmosphere effortlessly. 

The food was absolutely delicious, but Tom found himself more interested in the cacophony of conversations around himself. He eventually gave up trying to keep track of them all, choosing to talk to Percy and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley the most. He wasn’t entirely sure what to think about Luna, who kept smiling serenely at him from across the table. 

“Don’t worry,” Harry whispered into Tom’s ear. “She does that to everyone she likes.”

Tom nodded, smiling at Harry and squeezing his hand three times under the table. 

“So, Tom,” George said loudly from the other end of the table. “Fred and I have a present for you after supper!”

“Boys..." Mrs. Weasley said warningly. 

“Don’t be a spoil sport, mum!” Fred said brightly. “Tom will love it!”

“Okay,” Tom shrugged. “What is it?”

“I’m so glad you asked,” Fred grinned. “Everyone! To the back garden, please!”

They all made their way outside, Mrs. Weasley threatening the twins with violence if this was a prank. 

“We promised no pranks!” George waved her off. “So we made Tom a present!”

“If you will all kindly draw your attention over here,” Fred made a sweeping gesture to where four enormous green balloons floated in the air. “We will begin. Ready George?”

“Always, Fred.” George grinned. 

And together, they lit all of the fuses attached to the balloons and rushed over to the rest of the Weasley family. The fuses took a few seconds to reach the balloons, but when they did there were four loud explosions as fireworks shot up into the sky, creating a fantastic display of color in the air above them.

The family all screamed in wonder, pointing up as the fireworks changed colors, colliding in midair before fizzling out. 

By the time they had looked back down, Fred and George had a large box tied to a balloon in their hands. 

“We wanted to get you a present, Tom.” George grinned. “As mum made us promise no pranks.”

“Though she might not approve of this particular gift,” Fred smirked. “Harry said you’d like it.”

Tom looked at Harry in confusion, but he only shrugged unhelpfully. 

Hesitantly, Tom approached the twins and opened the box. There seemed to have been a trigger inside the box, as a bunch of green confetti exploded out, but underneath it all was…

“I don’t believe it.” Tom whispered reverently. “You got me a snake?”

“Not just any snake!” Fred beamed. “Harry insisted it had to be green!”

Tom didn’t know what to say - as a kid he’d kept several green snakes that had become his first friends. He’d only mentioned it once to Harry, but clearly he had remembered all this time later. 

“I don’t know what to say…” Tom said, looking at them both.

“We’re known to leave people speechless.” Fred winked. 

“Welcome to the family, Tom!” George smiled, hugging him. 

An hour later, Tom was holding his snake close to his chest on the drive home. Harry had let Hermione sit up front with Ron, as she wasn’t the biggest fan of snakes. Mrs. Weasley wasn’t a big fan of snakes either, but she had to admit it was a thoughtful present after she saw how happy it made Tom. The twins told him it was a girl snake and that she was quite young, so she’d live for a while yet. 

“Thank you for coming tonight.” Harry murmured, smiling up at Tom.

“Not at all,” Tom smiled back. “Thank you, for letting me meet your family.”

Outtake:

“What’re you going to call her, Tom?” Harry asked, gently stroking the young snake’s body.

Tom smiled gently down at her. “I think I’m going to call her ‘Nagini’.”

“Very original.” Harry chuckled. “Snake in Sanskrit, really?”

“Well,” Tom sniffed. “I thought it was clever.”

**Author's Note:**

> We didn't get to meet Charlie and Bill because they're working away from home, but I hope you liked this addition to the series!
> 
> Happy Reading!


End file.
